Solar energy, cement projects push 3Q investments to P20M

The South Western Cement Corp. will invest P12.5 million in a cement plant project in Malabuyoc, a southwestern town 126 km from Cebu City.
(CDN FILE PHOTO)

CEBU

Big-ticket projects in solar energy and cement registered at the Board of Investments Cebu Extension Office (BoI-Cebu) helped push investments in Cebu in the third quarter to P20 million, which is a marked improvement to previous quarters of the year.

BoI-Cebu logged seven projects amounting to P20.17 million between July to September, comprising investments in treated and semi-refined carrageenan, vertical mass housing, petroleum products, renewable energy, cement and shipping.

“We were just really lucky we had two big-ticket projects for the last quarter, which includes investments in solar energy and cement,” Ellorence Cruz, BoI Cebu Extension Office officer in charge, said in a phone interview with Cebu Daily News.

Seven projects

Cruz was referring to the P5.9-million solar power venture by Solar Philippines Commercial Rooftop Projects in Medellin, northern Cebu, and the P12.5-million investment of South Western Cement Corp. in Malabuyoc, southern Cebu.

Other projects registered within this year’s third quarter include projects by Cebu Carrageenan Corp., Pacific Grande Realty & Development Corp., Phoenix Petroleum Phils., Inc., The Supercat Ferry Corp. and Vista Residences, Inc.

2,141 jobs

In terms of employment, these projects generated a total of 2,141 jobs.

Cruz said that big-ticket investments in renewable energy or cement do not come by often because the office has been approving mostly mass housing projects in the past few years.

2nd quarter projects

There were six projects registered during the second quarter of this year, four of which were vertical mass housing projects while the rest were for a tourism accommodation facility and furniture manufacturing, all of which totaled to only P1.43 million.

From January to March 2017, the BoI logged five projects, including two in mass housing and three in renewable energy, amounting to P720,000.
Year to date, the total value of registered projects with the BoI has reached P23.3 million and has generated over 3,500 jobs.

Lower figures

While figures in this year’s July-to-September period are higher compared to the previous three months, the value of registered projects during the third quarter is quite lower than that recorded during the same period in 2016.

From July to September 2016, the value of BoI-registered projects in Cebu reached P1.39 billion, all of which are investments from Cebu Landmasters, Inc. in vertical and horizontal mass housing.

For the whole 2016, the value of BoI-registered projects in Cebu was pegged at P29.5 billion, generating 2,816 jobs.

“We just cannot say that there is a trend because there are some big projects that come every now and then. That cannot be controlled,” Cruz explained.

Set targets

However, the BoI in Cebu as well as other extension offices across the country have set targets among themselves in terms of the value of projects registered with them.

For 2017, BoI-Cebu targets to have P10 to P13 billion worth of projects registered, a goal which the office already exceeded.

Cruz said there will most likely be more mass housing and renewable energy projects that will be approved within the last quarter of 2017, although she could not give specifics on these yet.

The BoI has partnered with the Cebu Investment and Promotions Office (CIPO) to help capacitate local economic and investment promotion officers (LEIPO) in all of the province’s component towns and cities this year.